Big Four Battle
The Niagara Purple Eagles will wrap up their five-game road trip with a Big Four contest against the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.
The Purple Eagles (3-5) and Bulls (3-7) will meet for the 90th time on Saturday in a series that began during the 1906-07 season. NU, which leads the all-time series 58-31, has lost the last three meetings with its last win in the series coming at UB on Nov. 25, 2008 (65-61).
Niagara stopped its three-game skid with a 62-61 win at defending MAAC champion and preseason favorite Loyola on Wednesday for its sixth straight win Reitz Arena.
Juan'ya Green scored four straight points to break to the 58-58 tie en route to leading the game with 19 points and five assists.
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Joe Mihalich is ONE win away from 250 for his career.
~ The Purple Eagles are 14-7 versus Big 4 rivals Buffalo, Canisius and St. Bonaventure in the last five seasons.
~ All five starters were in double figures in last season’s meeting. NU has accomplished that feat one other time since, against Oregon State in the season opener.
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Antoine Mason leads the team and is third in the conference with 18.6 points per game. Juan’ya Green is seventh with 15.8 points per game. The duo has scored in double figures in each game this season.
~ Green has dished out at least five assists in seven of the eight games this season.
~ NU is 41st in the nation and second in the MAAC with 8.0 3-pointers per game.
~ NU ranks in the top half of the conference in scoring, field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, assists per game, steals per game, assist/turnover ratio and turnover margin
How To Tune In
Saturday’s game will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. NU fans can listen live to all the action from “The Voice of the Purple Eagles” Todd Callen. The matchup can be heard live on WGR 550 AM. Internet listeners can listen free online through Purple Eagles All-Access.
Mihalich Approaching 250 Wins
Joe Mihalich is ONE win away from reaching 250 wins for his career. Mihalich, who is in his 15th season as head coach, is the all-time winningest head coach in MAAC history. Out of the 347 Division I programs, only 30 percent (104) of the current head coaches have at least 250 wins.
Efficiency Rating
Niagara ranks in the top 35 nationally in two statistical categories, according to KenPom.com. The Purple Eagles are 35th in the nation in turnover percentage and 32nd in steals percentage. The numbers represent the percentage of NU possessions in which those things have occurred. NU only has the ball stolen 7.8 percent and NU has a 17.2 percent in turnover percentage.
‘Tis The Season For Sharing
Juan’ya Green and Tahjere McCall rank in the top eight in the MAAC in assists per game. Green is fourth with 5.1 apg and McCall is ninth with 3.5 apg.
Big Week For Lil Mase
Antoine Mason averaged 24 points per game, while shooting 60 percent from the field, and averaged 5.0 rebounds per game in contests at Iona and Central Michigan. Mason led Niagara in scoring (24.0 ppg), field goal percentage (60 percent) and free throw percentage (73.3 percent) in two games.
Mason recorded consecutive 20-point games to accumulate three 20-point games this season. Mason netted 24 points in 24 minutes in the conference opener at Iona; he finished with five rebounds and went 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. At CMU, Mason played the entire 40 minutes while tying a game-high 24 points and added five rebounds.
On The Court
Buffalo Bulls (3-7, 0-0 MAC)
UB won its last game to improve its record to 3-7. Preseason All-MAC and Big Four Player of the Year Javon McCrea leads UB in points per game (17.7) and rebounds per game (6.7). The Bulls have already lost to Big Four rivals Canisius and St. Bonaventure this season.
Against the Bulls (Niagara, 58-31)
The Purple Eagles lead the all-time series which began during the 1906-07 season. UB has won the last three meetings, but NU’s last win came at Alumni Hall on Nov. 25, 2008.
Last Meeting - December 7, 2011
Buffalo 82, Niagara 74
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara men’s basketball had to rally from another early deficit, but fell short of topping crosstown rival Buffalo, 82-74, on Wednesday from the “Taps” Gallagher Center.
